Songs The Hidden Meanings Behind Popular Stevie Wonder Songs

Adept at both writing his own material and covering other people's songs, Stevie Wonder's music tells a number of stories about his life and the causes dear to his heart. He wrote and sang about his childhood, his musical influences, his family and love - but also about poverty, drug use, racism, and several scathing rebukes of sitting presidents. But what inspired him and what is the real meaning behind these Stevie Wonder greatest hits?

Over the course of Wonder's career, he crafted a number of classic albums, pioneered innovative recording techniques, and sold a ton of records - landing over 30 top ten singles and selling over 100 million albums and singles. But many of his songs had many layers to them, and unique, telling backstories and meanings that might not be immediately perceived by those listening to the great Stevie Wonder discography. From "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" to "Superstition," the real meanings and origins of his hits will surprise you.

Here are the hidden meanings of lyrics and backstories behind some of the most well-known Stevie Wonder songs. Read on to learn the real stories behind the top Stevie Wonder tracks, and the hidden meanings this great musician folded into his music.

Co-written by Wonder when he was just 15 years old, the song describes a poor man’s happiness in finding a rich girlfriend who can see past his lowly status. It was such a hit that Motown rushed out an entire album called Uptight in 1966, which was mostly covers, including a version of Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” that Wonder made a crossover hit.

A note-for-note re-recording of the track was used as the backing music for Bill Cosby's 1967 single, "Little Ole Man (Uptight, Everything's Alright)." see more on Uptight

Though Stevie Wonder made it a top five hit, “For Once in My Life” had a long and difficult recording process. Penned by Motown staff writers Ron Miller and Orlando Murden, the track went through a number of singers and versions, including a slow ballad rendition by The Four Tops, before landing with The Temptations in 1967.

Tony Bennett also cut a version of it around the same time, as did Wonder, though Motown head Berry Gordy didn’t care for Wonder’s take on the song, and had to be talked into releasing it. It hit number two on the Billboard Hot Singles chart, where it was kept out of the #1 spot by another song Gordy had vetoed – Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard it Through the Grapevine.”

While Wonder’s monster hit is credited solely to him, the track actually began its life as a collaboration with guitarist Jeff Beck. He’d asked to join Wonder in the sessions for his 1972 album Talking Book, in exchange for Wonder writing Beck a song. When Beck began playing a funky beat on the drums as a goof, Wonder joined in with the iconic keyboard part and “Superstition” was the result.

Beck assumed this was the song Wonder would write for him and recorded his own version, but it wasn’t released until after Wonder’s recording of it became a smash. see more on Superstition

Wonder wrote “Isn’t She Lovely” as a tribute to his newborn daughter Aisha. In fact, the album track includes both a recording of a baby being born, and a lengthy outro featuring samples of Wonder playing with his daughter.

The radio edit cuts out both almost entirely, and was released against Wonder’s wishes. He felt the track was too personal and wasn’t an appropriate single. It charted as an album track anyway, and has been covered by numerous artists, including Frank Sinatra.